Out and about

Posted by Chris Graham on 30th September 2021

Chris Graham has been out and about with his camera at various tractor events that went ahead this summer. Here’s a flavour of what he saw.

HADLOW DOWN HISTORIC VEHICLE RALLY
This event provided the first time I was able to get out and about at a proper rally this summer, and what a treat it was, too. It’s a very well-established event, being run for the 55th time, and represented the season-opener for many enthusiasts, so was packed to the rafters with both exhibitors and the visiting public. It’s a compact event on a hilly, rural site that follows a time-honoured and successful formula, and this year was no exception.

Although heavy rain in the immediate run-up to the event made the car parks a bit slippery on the first day, the rest of the show ran like clockwork, as it always tends to do.

Out and about: One of the big attractions of the Tinkers Park rally in Hadlow Down is the variety of vehicles that’s always on show; there are interesting combinations everywhere you look!

Sean Thompsett’s 1973 MF 135 parading in the arena, with colour-coordinated backing from London Transport.

This Ferguson 35, with its Sta-dri cab, will be familiar to anyone who is a frequent visitor to Tinkers Park, which is the show venue as well as the home of The Claude Jessett Collection.

The parade ring isn’t the biggest at Tinkers Park, but things aren’t actually as cramped as they look here, with Nathan Thompsett manoeuvring his MF 155 around a Standard Fordson.

MAD JACK FULLER ROAD RUN
Organised by Dickie Croft and with a picturesque, 20-mile route that started and finished in the East Sussex village of Brightling, the Mad Jack Fuller Charity Road Run took place for the second time on July 18th.

It’s an event that’s open to all makes and models of pre-1980 tractor, and was well supported this time by about 40 machines. Fine weather, friendly people and a worthy cause assured that much fun was had by all.

Richard Heal’s recently-restored MF 590 stretching its legs near Brightling, East Sussex.

Charles Clark and his Massey Ferguson 165, with a trailer-full of passengers enjoying the glorious weather.

This driver’s got all the bases covered – hi-viz, sunglasses, hat and ear defenders, as he conducts his little grey Fergie and box trailer back towards Brightling.

David Akehurst, from Hastings, aboard his smartly-presented FE 35.

OLD TIMER TRACTOR RALLY
One of the distinguishing features of the still-new Old-Timer Tractor Rally, apart from the fact that entry is restricted to pre-1950s tractors, stationary engines, commercials, cars and motorcycles, only – is the fact the organisers run a permanently ‘open display arena’, which means that vehicle owners can take a tour around the show ring whenever they fancy it. This gives the event, which took place at Wooferton, near Ludlow, on July 31st-August 1st, a unique and very relaxed feel. Hopefully, it’s set to become a regular in the rally calendar now.

This 1932 Massey Harris GP, owned by Edwin Hughes from Flint, N Wales, made stately progress around the show ring, and was much admired.

Here’s another view of Edwin Hughes’ superbly-presented Massey Harris GP, which he bought in 2019.

WEALD OF KENT STEAM RALLY
Despite a last-minute, rain-driven change of date, which saw this event held on August 14th-15th, instead of the 7th-8th, it proved to be the success that everyone had been hoping for. The showground, at Woodchurch in Kent, is a straggly affair that’s arranged down both sides of a grass airstrip. But there was certainly plenty on show for the public to enjoy.

There’s something inherently appealing about a beautifully preserved tractor that doesn’t try to hide its age, and they don’t come much better than this 1954 Ferguson TE-D 20.